In the worst Spitzerian tradition, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) today announced that he is suing the federal government for failing to conduct an environmental analysis on the impacts to drinking water caused by ‘fracking,’ a.k.a. hydraulic fracturing, the American-made technological miracle in natural gas production that has roughly doubled known North American gas reserves in only the last 5 years.
New York could be a huge beneficiary of fracking, as much of the state is situated above the Marcellus Shale, an enormous gas deposit in the American Northeast that can be tapped only with this new technology. But environmentalist special interest groups oppose the practice, because it would expand America’s supply of hydrocarbon energy, and they have whipped up alarm among Manhattanites by making unfounded claims that fracking would pollute New York City’s water supply.
In fact, these allegations are bunk. Just ask the British Parliament, which recently concluded that fracking is safe for water supplies. Closer to home, AG Schneiderman could have sought counsel from New York State Geologist Dr. Taury Smith, a self-described liberal Democrat, who told the Albany Times Union that the state’s natural gas deposits are “a huge gift.” Dr. Smith dismissed the environmentalists’ allegations about water contamination as being “exaggerated,” and “the worst spin.”
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Recently, an environmentalist special interest group engendered a political backlash in Massachusetts after running a particularly sleazy television advertisement that equated baby abuse with Sen. Scott Brown’s (R) admirable vote for excellent legislation that would have reined in the Environmental Protection Agency’s runaway regulatory regime for greenhouse gas emissions. I wrote about it here; suffice it to say, Sen. Brown turned lemons into lemonade by painting himself as a sympathetic father-figure under attack from unscrupulous sleazebags.
In the immediate wake of this blowback, I find it interesting that Politico’s Morning Energy Report (I recommend signing up here) reported today on how the greens feel that they have failed to achieve a cap-and-trade energy rationing scheme because they have been too timid. According to the Politico writeup,
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Ethanol Strategery
Ross Kaminsky, American Spectator, 31 May 2011
California’s Cap-and-Trade Illegality
Thomas Tanton, Master Resource, 31 May 2011
Who’s Afraid of Ethanol? The 2012 Campaign Will Tell
Don Gonyea, NPR, 31 May 2011
Oil Boom, Thanks to Fracking
Clifford Krauss, New York Times, 27 May 2011
The Great Tornados of 2011 Put in Perspective
Patrick Michaels, Forbes, 26 May 2011
The Problems with the Precautionary Principle
Jonathan Adler, The American, 25 May 2011
Driving is an American pastime on Memorial Day weekend. Indeed, today’s holiday is THE road trip occasion in American culture. This acute association explains why American politicians choose the lead up to Memorial Day to trot out plans to address high gasoline prices.
This year, it was dueling votes in the Senate. Roughly speaking, the Republicans tried to increase the supply of oil by ending the Obama administration’s de facto moratorium on domestic drilling, wrought by bureaucratic foot-dragging. The legislation already had been passed by the Republican-controlled House. On the other hand, the Democrats wanted to raise taxes on “Big Oil” companies, by eliminating tax breaks enjoyed by many—and in some cases, all—businesses. Neither party wooed enough votes to survive a filibuster, so they both failed. Of the two, the Republicans’ ideas were better this time, but there have been instances in the past when both parties were equally bad in the run up to Memorial Day weekend.
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In addition to being a humanitarian and ecological disaster, the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant crisis also spawned an energy crunch. A significant amount of supply, the equivalent of 9 average-sized American coal power plants, was lost. The 6 light water reactors at the plant had been an important source of power for Tokyo.
More generally, the Japanese people are likely to have second thoughts about nuclear energy. Japan is a global leader in atomic power because it has almost no natural resources, so it has to import almost all of its raw materials. As such, nuclear is much less inimical to a trade balance that other forms of energy. But considering the 2 precedents to Fukushima (Three Mile Island and Chernobyl), it’s a safe bet that nuclear will play a much smaller role in the nation’s energy mix for a generation or longer.
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A state judge this week ordered the University of Virginia to stop stonewalling on a Freedom of Information Request for emails from Michael Mann, the creator of the much–disputed “Hockey Stick” reconstruction of historical global temperatures.
The American Tradition Institute filed the FOIA more than 4 months ago, but the University repeatedly delayed the release of the documents, in apparent violation of Virginia’s FOIA law. On May 16, ATI initiated legal proceedings to force the University to comply with its statutory responsibilities. Only then did the University agree to produce all relevant documents by August 22, a commitment to which the University is bound by this week’s ruling.
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The American Northeast has attained metaphysical balance on energy rationing, thanks to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s (R) announcement yesterday that he would withdraw the Garden State from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state cap-and-trade scheme. After New Jersey leaves, the remaining nine participants will be: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Christie’s unexpected decision serves as the yin to New Hampshire’s yang. In late February, the New Hampshire House of Representatives passed HB 519, legislation that would withdraw the Granite State from RGGI, by a 246 to 104 vote. At the time, it was widely thought that the Senate would quickly follow suit, as Republicans control the upper chamber. HB 519’s ultimate enactment appeared so certain, in fact, that Governor John Lynch (D) issued a pre-emptive veto. It should have been a futile gesture, because Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in both chambers of the legislature. Then the environmentalist lobby mobilized and frightened many members of the Senate. The bill was delayed. And in early May, the full Senate, where Republicans enjoy a 2 to 1 majority, voted to remain in the the regional energy rationing scheme. New Hampshire Republicans had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
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Energy Myths of the Left
Ross Kaminsky, American Spectator, 27 May 2011
T. Boone: Remember When You Said…?
Robert Bradley, Master Resource, 27 May 2011
The Running out of Resources Myth
Brian Lee Crowley, Financial Post, 26 May 2011
Speculator Ghosts in the Oil Machine
Gregor.us, 26 May 2011
Climate Diplomacy Not about Temperature
Steven Hayward, Planet Gore, 26 May 2011
Shrimp on a Treadmill
Hank Campbell, Science 2.0, 26 May 2011
As readers of this blog are no doubt aware, I’m a big fan of ‘fracking,’ a.k.a. hydraulic fracturing, the American-made technological miracle in natural gas production that has roughly doubled known North American gas reserves in only the last five years. In previous posts, I’ve defended fracking from nonsensical attacks launched by ill-informed environmentalists. Quite contrary to what the alarmists would have you believe, we’re lucky for the fracking revolution. Not only has it dramatically increased our domestic supply of natural gas, but now it’s being used to extract oil, too, and it could prove just as revolutionary for that industry.
Fracking does, however, have one major drawback: it has caused rampant rent-seeking. While gas supply has exploded, American consumption increased only 9 percent from 2005 to 2010. The sagging economy has further increased this disparity between gas supply and demand. For consumers, this is great, as it should usher in a period of relatively stable, low prices in the historically volatile gas market. For gas producers, it could be great. The low prices should make their product more attractive relative to other forms of energy. In turn, this could lead to whole new sectors of demand.The problem is that a couple major players in the gas industry refuse to wait for market forces to work their magic. Instead, these impatient industry titans are trying to convince politicians to enact policies that force Americans to use natural gas.
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Where’s Gore’s Michigan Drought?
Henry Payne, The Michigan View, 26 May 2011
Electricity: The Master Resource
Robert Bradley, Master Resource, 26 May 2011
Michal Moore 2.0, Tree-Hugger
Robert Laurie, The Michigan View, 26 May 2011
Court Orders UVA To Produce Climate Docs
Paul Chesser, AmSpecBlog, 25 May 2011
Polar Ice Rapture Misses Deadline
James Taylor, Forbes, 25 May 2011
Blame La Nina for Tornados
Andrea Mustain, Christian Science Monitor, 25 May 2011
Pippa Middleton Takes a Job in Green Energy
Greg Pollowitz, Planet Gore, 25 May 2011
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